Galactic Empire
Galactic Empire Political information Type of government Devolved constitutional monarchy (de jure) Humanocentric authoritarian empire (de facto) Dark Side Magocracy (10–11 ABY) Founding document Declaration of a New Order Constitution Imperial Charter Head of State Galactic Emperor (19 BBY–11 ABY) Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet (12 ABY—) Head of Government Grand Vizier (19 BBY–4 ABY) Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet (12 ABY—) Commander-in-chief Military Executor (10 ABY–11 ABY) Supreme Commander (19 BBY–4 ABY; 8 ABY—) De facto leader Emperor Palpatine Executive branch Imperial Inner Circle (19 BBY–4 ABY) Central Committee of Grand Moffs (5 ABY) Interim Ruling Council (11 ABY) Diet of Imperial Planetary Governors (11 ABY) Council of Moffs (12 ABY—) Legislative branch Imperial Senate (19–0 BBY) Diet of Imperial Planetary Governors (c. 11 ABY) Council of Moffs (12 ABY—) Judicial branch Supreme Court Regional Courts Procurator of Justice Societal information Capital Imperial Center,1 later others, most notably Byss2 and Bastion, the Imperial Remnant capital Official language Imperial Basic Currency Imperial Dataries State religious body Order of the Sith Lords and Dark Side Adepts (both unofficial) National holiday Empire Day Historical information Formed from Galactic Republic Remnants of the Confederacy of Independent Systems Date of establishment 19 BBY (c.15:5)3 Date of fragmentation 4 ABY45 (39)6 8 ABY after the death of Zsinj 9 ABY after the death of Thrawn5 11 ABY after the final death of Palpatine2 130 ABY into the Empire-in-exile Date of reorganization 4 ABY into Zsinj's Empire5 c. 9 ABY as part of Thrawn's Empire5 10 ABY as the Dark Empire2 12 ABY as the Imperial Remnant7 Between 44 ABY and 127 ABY as the Fel Empire8 138 ABY as the Galactic Federation Triumvirate Date of dissolution 12 ABY 130 ABY 138 ABY Date of restoration Between 44 ABY and 127 ABY as the Fel Empire 130 ABY as Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire Era(s) Rise of the Empire era Rebellion era New Republic era New Jedi Order era (informally) Legacy era (restored) Source We are an Empire ruled by the majority! An Empire ruled by a new Constitution! An Empire of laws, not of politicians! An Empire devoted to the preservation of a just society. Of a safe and secure society! We are an Empire that will stand for ten thousand years!" ―Palpatinesrc The Galactic Empire, also known as the New Order, the Old Empire, the First Galactic Empire, Palpatine's New Order, the Imperium or simply the Empire, was the galactic government established by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to replace the Galactic Republic in 19 BBY and bring Sith rule to the galaxy. The Republic, which had lasted for at least 25,034 years, ended following a period of intense political turmoil and the subsequent devastation of the Clone Wars. After General Grievous was defeated at the battle of Utapau, and shortly before the leaders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems were killed on Mustafar by Darth Vader, Chancellor Palpatine (by then ruling with near-absolute power), began a purge of the Jedi Order, and then proclaimed himself Emperor of the galaxy and reorganized the Galactic Republic into "the first Galactic Empire" on the galactic capital. HistoryEdit OriginEdit "We stand on the threshold of a new beginning. In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society, which I assure you will last for ten thousand years. An Empire that will continue to be ruled by this august body and a sovereign ruler chosen for life." ―Emperor Palpatine, in his Imperial Inaugural Addresssrc The Empire can be said to have begun with the scheming aspiration of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, whose alter ego was Senator Palpatine of Naboo. A great manipulator of events, he furtively instigated the Naboo crisis, using the Trade Federation as a pawn, which led to Queen Amidala calling for a "Vote of No Confidence" in Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, effectively replacing him. When his first apprentice, Darth Maul, was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sidious took on the former Jedi Count Dooku as his new apprentice. Dooku then helped found the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which in turn ignited the Clone Wars. Emperor Palpatine announces the beginning of the New Order. Palpatine was an efficient and effective leader who quickly brought to an end the corruption in the Senate; his power was greatly increased as a result of the Clone Wars, while the Senate willingly furnished more and more emergency powers to him. Eventually, the Senate lost most of its power and became little more than a formality that Palpatine had to go through to pass his laws. Yet the Senate did have a symbolic power at least; Chancellor Palpatine still hid behind the pomp and circumstance of appealing to the Senate, but his power existed in his control over thousands of Senators that he had brought into his own web of corruption. However, Anakin Skywalker discovered that Palpatine was a Sith Lord, and after having informed Jedi Master Mace Windu of his discovery, a Jedi task force, led by Windu himself, attempted to arrest him. After a brief duel, Palpatine appeared to be defeated. Skywalker arrived and demanded the Sith Lord's life be spared, that he might stand trial. Deeply troubled, Skywalker nonetheless helped Palpatine kill Windu, prompting him to be held under Palpatine's sway as his new apprentice and enforcer, Darth Vader. Palpatine then proceeded to carry out the Great Jedi Purge, which eliminated almost all of the Jedi, while simultaneously wiping out the remnants of the Confederacy at Mustafar, thus bringing an end to the Clone Wars. Secure in his power and position, Palpatine used the so-called Jedi rebellion to issue the Declaration of a New Order and declared himself Emperor of the Galaxy in 19 BBY, replacing the Galactic Republic with the Galactic Empire. Many people under the new Empire enthusiastically supported the vision outlined in the Declaration of a New Order, largely due to the violence that had plagued the galaxy for so long. Many Senators wholeheartedly supported the new government while a number of more cautious senators chose to watch and wait to see how the new government would handle the affairs of state. It promised to trade frailty for strength, chaos for order, and uncertainty for decisiveness. In retrospect, the foundation of the Empire had already been set down during Palpatine's chancellorship and all potential threats eliminated; therefore, the transition from Republic to Empire was relatively smooth. It is important to note that not all of the Senators liked what they saw. In fact, the Petition of 2000 sought to bring the worries of these Senators to Palpatine. This petition was led by Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Padmé Amidala. Palpatine's dismissal of their concerns was one factor that led Organa and Mothma to help found the Alliance to Restore the Republic. ImperializationEdit Blue Glass Arrow.svg Main article: Imperialization "I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire!" ―Darth Vadersrc With the rise of the Empire, all the institutions of the old Republic found themselves either dismantled or modified beyond recognition. There was a riot of renaming all things "Imperial" to glorify the new Emperor: overnight, the Coruscant sector was renamed the Imperial Sector, Coruscant itself was renamed Imperial Center, and Galactic City was renamed Imperial City. The Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate. The Grand Army of the Republic became the Imperial Army, and the Republic Navy became the Imperial Navy. The four decrepit intelligence agencies of the Republic were merged into Imperial Intelligence, with former SBI director Armand Isard at its head. The Palace of the Republic was rebuilt and expanded, becoming the Imperial Palace, eclipsing all other buildings on Imperial Center. The former Commission for the Protection of the Republic (COMPOR) was renamed the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR). Within days, there were few names left to remind the people that there had ever been a Galactic Republic. Emperor Palpatine, ruler of the galaxy. During the first few years of the Empire, the galaxy saw the single largest military buildup in history. A council of Moffs was established to more efficiently govern individual sectors and regions of the Empire. Popular support for the policies of Palpatine's administration was high. The dark timesEdit "We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless. If they are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end." ―Palpatinesrc As this process unfolded, Palpatine consolidated his power by launching Purges against his opponents, most notably the Old Republic officers, whom he hadn't been able to seduce to his side. Palpatine's first purge of the Imperial Navy occurred within just two weeks into the Empire's rule. The Emperor saw the respected Caamasi as a threat to his New Order, so he ordered the devastation of their home planet Caamas. A group of Bothan infiltrators were responsible for sabotaging Caamas's shield generators, leaving the planet vulnerable to Imperial orbital bombardment. The once beautiful world was devastated during this attack, turned into a poisoned wasteland. The peaceful Caamasi were dispersed throughout the galaxy. In 18 BBY, the Emperor constructed the huge, asteroid-shaped superweapon Eye of Palpatine in order to use it to destroy a Jedi enclave on Belsavis. However, the deadly superweapon was sabotaged by two Jedi Knights and the Jedi on Belsavis managed to escape. Around the same time, a group of beings were protesting the tyranny of the Galactic Empire on the planet Ghorman in the Sern sector. Wilhuff Tarkin's flagship was blocked by peaceful protesters who stood on the ship's landing pad and refused to move. With implied permission from Palpatine, Tarkin landed the ship anyway, right on the protesters, injuring and killing many. This came to be known as the Ghorman Massacre. The Alliance to Restore the Republic was founded in its wake. Many Jedi also rebelled against Palpatine's regime. Olee Starstone and a group of Order 66 Jedi survivors along with Roan Shryne attempted to re-establish the Jedi Council but were unsuccessful. The group fled to Kashyyyk to find out if any Jedi survived there, but the Empire launched a massive takeover of the planet. Darth Vader killed Roan Shryne and some of the Jedi, with Starstone barely escaping with her life. A Wookiee among them, named Chewbacca, fled the city to find his family. Meanwhile, Ferus Olin along with his friends including Jedi Master Solace caused much havoc on Imperial-controlled planets including a rebellion on the planet of Bellassa, the two Jedi break-ins of the destroyed Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and the destruction of an Imperial Garrison and Weapon Munitions Center on Naboo. Also on Kessel, a group of Jedi including Master Tsui Choi and Jedi Knight Bultar Swan planned to draw Darth Vader into a trap and kill him. Due to exceptionally bad planning and tactics, every one of them was killed, though Vader's suit was slightly damaged. In 1 BBY, the Emperor and Vader were the targets of an attempted coup by a group of treacherous Imperial officers led by Grand Moff Trachta. Trachta saw the Sith as foolish and archaic, and believed that the Empire should not be ruled by a two-man cult. They planned to use a batch of altered stormtroopers loyal only to them to destroy the two Sith Lords. However, their plot failed in part because of internal fighting between the co-conspirators.